ARKADELPHIA — Cesar Abreu went 3-for-3 with three RBI, while Jake Bell pitched 5.1 innings and allowing three runs, but the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (26-15, 13-9 Great American Conference) fell victim to an eight-run seventh inning as Ouachita Baptist (18-18-1, 10-12 GAC) rallied to take a 13-10 win over ATU on Friday at Rab Rodgers Field.

The series will conclude with a doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. today. The game can be heard online at athletics.atu.edu and radio station KCAB 980 AM.

Abreu scored on an error in the first inning, but OBU’s Duncan Collins hit a two-run single in the second to put the Tigers ahead 2-1.

Abreu knotted the game in the fifth with an RBI single, and the Wonder Boys reclaimed the lead when Josh Johnson scored on an error. ATU extended its lead to 4-2 after a sacrifice fly by Thomas Biocic later in the inning.

The Wonder Boys continued the offensive onslaught in the sixth inning, as Josh Johnson’s RBI bunt single and a two-run triple by Abreu pushed the lead to 7-2.

The Tigers came back in the bottom of the sixth and scored three runs to cut Tech’s lead to 7-5. However, the Wonder Boys responded once again, as an RBI double by Drew Stanton and a two-run pinch-hit single by Jay Johnson extended ATU’s lead to 10-5.

But OBU exploded in the bottom of the seventh and scored eight runs on four hits with two errors to claim a 13-10 lead. The Tigers bullpen shut down the Wonder Boys down in order in the eighth and ninth.

Zac Johnson, Jonathan Finnegan, and Josh Johnson all had two hits for the Wonder Boys in the loss. Zach Skelton suffered the loss in relief, falling to 2-2 on the season after allowing four runs, two earned, on one hit.

Tennis: Suns can claim outright GAC crown today

Arkansas Tech’s Golden Suns tennis program seeks to win its second consecutive regular-season outright championship today when it hosts Southern Nazarene at the Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex. The match is slated for an 11 a.m. start.

ATU will face UAPB on Tuesday in their final tuneup for the upcoming Great American Conference championship in Bentonville on April 19-21.

It has been a tumultuous season for the Golden Suns, who started the season 1-3 in dual competitions. However, since March, ATU has posted a 9-1 record and is on a five-match winning streak entering today’s match with SNU.

“This season started out kind of rough, but we bounced back well,” Golden Suns head coach Abby Davis said. “It’s been an up-and-down season at times, but we’re ready.”

Making matters more difficult, particularly in the early portion of the season, was Arkansas Tech’s abbreviated fall schedule. Weather forced the cancellation of several fall events and allowed the Suns to compete only once before the spring season.

“Having a short fall season was tough,” Davis said. “We only got to play one fall tournament and we added a new player in January. Historically we’ve had good doubles teams, and it’s very important, particularly in (NCAA) Division II to have good doubles teams. It was maybe two weeks before we started playing in January that I had to make a decision about our doubles lineup. I felt like we were pretty far behind in doubles, and it showed against some really good teams those first few matches. But we’ve been able to tell, as our season has gone on, that our doubles teams have been what has set us up to win matches. When you go into singles ahead 3-0 or 2-1, that’s a huge advantage.”

Despite the up-and-down nature of the season, Davis is confident in her team’s focus and attitude going into the final two matches of the regular season as well as the GAC championship.

“What has surprised me the most on this team is how well they get ready to play,” Davis said. “They mentally get ready for competition. That’s so huge in individual sports. They want to get out and compete, they enjoy competing, and they go out there with the attitude that they are going win. They know that they won conference last year and they know they are the favorites this year, and they act like that when they are on the court. They rise to the challenge. We know we have a target on our backs, and we are the team that everyone wants to knock off, and they just get ready to play. I know what I’m going to get when I put them on the court.”

Volleyball: Suns host tournament today

Spring workouts continue for the Arkansas Tech volleyball program, and the Golden Suns will once again face outside competition this weekend when they host a six-team preseason tournament beginning at 9 a.m. today. Admission to the tournament inside Tucker Coliseum is free.

“We are looking forward to playing at home this spring against some quality competition,” ATU head coach Kristy Bayer said. “It is a good opportunity for our fans to get a glimpse of our progress this spring.”

The Golden Suns will compete along with the Arkansas Tech Alumni volleyball team, Harding, Lyon, East Central and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Matches will be played from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a 50-minute time limit.

Schedule

9 a.m. — Harding vs. Tech Alumni (Court 1)

10 — Tech vs. Harding (Court 1); Lyon vs. Tech Alumni (Court 2)

11 — Lyon vs. Tech (Court 1)

Noon — Harding vs. East Central (Court 1); UAPB vs. Lyon (Court 2)

1 p.m. — UAPB vs. East Central (Court 1)

2 — Tech Alumni vs. Tech (Court 1); East Central vs. Lyon (Court 2)

3 — East Central vs. Tech (Court 1); UAPB vs. Alumni (Court 2).

Dover peewee football, cheerleading registration today

The Dover youth football and cheerleading programs will host registration for the 2013 season from 10 a.m. to noon today and April 20 at the Old Gym on the Dover school campus.

Sign-ups are open to children in Dover schools going into grades 4-6. Participates also must not turn 13 before Nov. 10. New players must submit a copy of birth certificate. Registration costs are $50 for one child, $95 for two children and $135 for three children.

For more information, contact football commissioner Joseph Brown at (479) 692-9820 or cheerleading commissioner Amber Baggett at 747-0408.